Local roundup: Lady Vikings advance to soccer semifinals
Mount Pleasant had been ousted from the quarterfinals of the WPIAL Class 2A girls soccer playoffs the previous two seasons, and for nearly 40 minutes on Saturday at Vikings Stadium, the home team was on the ropes against Shady Side Academy.
The fourth-seeded Lady Bulldogs had a 1-0 lead, but with under four minutes remaining in the first half, Mount Pleasant leading scorer Morgan Gesinski sped down the left side of the field and fired a pass to Addie Cole, who was in front of the goal all alone. Cole put the shot to the left side of the Shady Side Academy keeper to tie the match at 1-1.
Gesinski scored the match winner three minutes into the second half after retrieving the ball from Addison Czekaj. She beat a defender and put the ball into the back of the net for a 2-1 lead.
The Lady Vikings (14-4-1) would hold the advantage for a 2-1 victory to advance to the semifinals for the first year since 2022. Mount Pleasant reached the championship final that season.
The Lady Vikings face nemesis Burrell (11-6-2) on Tuesday at Gateway High School. The match is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.
Burrell has eliminated Mount Pleasant in the quarterfinals the past two years.
The eighth-seeded Lady Buccaneers upset No. 1 seed South Park, 1-0, which came into the match undefeated at 19-0-0. The Lady Eagles had conceded three goals entering their quarterfinal match.
Shady Side Academy (8-10) entered Saturday’s quarterfinal at the 12th seed. The Lady Bulldogs opened the scoring in the 22nd minute of the first half when Allison Shi passed to Sarah Kushnir, who eluded a defender and beat the Mount Pleasant keeper for a 1-0 lead.
Both teams put five shots on target.
Waynesburg Central 3, Seton LaSalle 1 — The 11th-seeded Lady Raiders earned their second upset in as many matches in defeating the third-seeded Lady Rebels in the WPIAL Class A girls soccer quarterfinals at Peters Township Middle School.
Ava DiAlessandro, Rylei Rastoka and Serenity Taylor each scored a goal for Waynesburg (11-4-2) which knocked off No. 6 Winchester Thurston in the first round, 1-0.
The Lady Raiders’ Emily Rafferty had two assists. Waynesburg keeper Peyton Cowell had several key stops to keep her team in the lead.
The Lady Raiders play section-rival and second-seeded Bentworth (17-1-1) in Tuesday’s semifinals at Peters Township Middle School. The match is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m.
Girls volleyball
Frazier 3, Carmichaels 0 — The top-seeded Lady Commodores defended their home court with a sweep of the ninth-seeded Lady Mikes in reaching the WPIAL semifinals in Class A.
Frazier (13-2) won by set scores of 25-13, 25-17 and 25-22.
Carmichaels, which defeated No. 8 Rochester in the first round, 3-2, saw its season come to an end at 7-10.
Frazier will face fourth-seeded Eden Christian (11-3) in the final four at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Peters Township High School’s AHN Arena.
California 3, Beth-Center 0 — The seventh-seeded Lady Trojans earned a stunning sweep over the No. 2 Lady Bulldogs in the WPIAL Class A quarterfinals.
California (14-4) won by set scores of 25-17, 25-22 and 25-17.
The Lady Trojans play No. 6 Serra Catholic (13-5) in the semifinals at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Peters Township High School’s AHN Arena.
Beth-Center’s season comes to a close with a 13-2 record.